Семейные тайны Family Secrets
by Draconian-Theatrics
Summary: Life isn't going so well in the Edelstein house. A cheating wife, a son with too many dates, and a son scared to even go to school... Will a strangely cheerful Russian help pull them back together? WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH


The train rocked as it traveled down the snowy tracks to its distant destination. The swaying was soothing to one passenger with a very large trunk, his arm resting on the windowsill as he watched the scenery pass. He had a round face, sparkling eyes, that held a childishly innocent feeling, and a smile that seemed to permanently curve his lips, yet never reach his eyes. His features made him look younger than he probably was, giving the illusion he might have only been about eighteen or so, and there was no way to tell his age from his body shape, lost under a thick coat and scarf that gave him a bulkier figure. Still, there seemed to be nothing out of place about him, considering he wasn't the only one bundled up to ward off the winter chill, that is, until another passenger noticed the man's trunk was leaking a dark red liquid that flowed too thickly to be mistaken for wine. She screamed in terror, pointing to the stain,

"Blood!" She cried, "There's blood coming out of that trunk!" The rest of the train car went up in a panic and the train was pulled to a stop at the nearest station to get the police. When the officers arrived, the man was still sitting calmly in his seat, his trunk untouched on the rack above. He smiled at the men when they approached, speaking in a pleasant voice,

"Is something wrong, officer?" One man nodded, pointing to the leaking trunk,

"Is that yours, sir?" The blond nodded, "What's in it?" Here his smile widened, but again, it did not reach his eyes,

"Bodies." He answered, as if there was nothing wrong with that, the police officers moved closer, despite the chill that ran down their spines,

"Whose bodies?" Suddenly the man's eyes flashed and turned cold, though his expression remained in a smile, and his tone did not change,

"Oh, just my husband and his affair." Before they could ask why, he continued, "I found out he'd been cheating on me, and well... I couldn't let him get away with it, now could I?" Horrified and disgusted, the officers arrested the man and he was sent to a prison for the criminally insane on charges of manslaughter.

Years passed, and the incident was long forgotten. In Austria there lived a man, Roderich Edelstein, a musician by profession, and he was passionate about his work, so much so that he practically forgot about his wife and two children as he spent hours working on compositions and playing his favorite piano. His wife, Elizaveta, often grew frustrated with the lack of love in their relationship, and had taken up hobbies to try and distract herself. Of course, she was a very tomboyish woman, and had decided that she'd much rather do something physical instead of ladylike, and took up fighting lessons with a German trainer by the name Gilbert, a loud, albino man that liked to brag about himself. They had two sons, twins, yet they were polar opposites. The fractionally older, Romano, was constantly angry, violent, and swore like a sailor despite any efforts to stop him, whereas the younger, Feliciano, was sweet and kind and had a fondness for art. In any given household, there are secrets, but in the Edelstein household, there are some rather big secrets that Roderich was totally unaware of, too wrapped up in his music.

One summer afternoon, Roderich and Elizaveta went to pick up the twins from school, but they got there late because of traffic issues, and the boys were nowhere to be seen. They searched the school grounds, only to find the pair of brunettes walking with a rather tall man in a heavy coat and scarf. Elizaveta, who was very protective of her children, immediately did not trust the man and rushed over to intervene,

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded, pulling the twins behind her and glaring up at the broad-shouldered blond, "Are you trying to kidnap my children?" The man looked her over once, then smiled,

"Oh, so they're yours! They looked so lost with no one here to look after them, so I thought I'd help!" He extended a hand politely, "My name is Ivan, Ivan Braginski. You are?" Elizaveta narrowed her eyes, scowling,

"How do I know you are who you say you are?" Ivan looked hurt, sighing and pulling out an ID with his name and face on it,

"Does this work?" At this point Elizaveta noticed how strong of an accent he had, and with a glance at the ID, saw that he was Russian, and the rest matched up as well. She sighed, relaxing slightly and nodding, which made him smile again,

"Well then, Ivan, thank you for helping my sons. What were you doing around here anyway?" Ivan smiled, walking beside her as she ushered Romano and Feliciano to the car,

"Actually, I'm looking for a job. Do you know where I can get one?" Elizaveta paused to consider it, musing to herself,

"Well, Roderich mentioned wanting someone to help look after the house..." Ivan brightened up, nodding,

"I'm quite good at cleaning, da~" He said, and Elizaveta couldn't help but find the bit of Russian in his speech amusing, like how Gilbert used a lot of old German dialect that he claimed was 'Prussian'. Elizaveta accepted, and they headed home, discussing how much Ivan would be paid, what his work would entail, etc. Roderich was content with the idea, though Elizaveta knew he was probably cringing at the thought of spending money on a housekeeper. He'd always been a heavily frugal man.

As time passed, the Edelstein household grew accustomed to their large Russian companion. Feliciano was a little shy and hesitant at first, but rapidly opened up when Ivan brought up the subject of art. Romano, despite his attempts to be rude and abrasive toward Ivan, gave up when all of his insults and attacks seemed to bounce off the Russian. Roderich learned of Ivan's fondness for ballet when the blond began humming along with the music he was playing and could name the piece, and the Russian ballet performance he'd seen of it. Elizaveta couldn't help but find Ivan endearing when he would play with the twins, either playfighting with Romano, or coloring and painting with Feliciano, and he would even set out an ice pack or a heating pad for when she came home from her fighting lessons. And around all of the family bonding, he always kept the house clean and orderly. During the family bonding, Ivan also learned things. He learned that Romano was being bullied at school. He learned Feliciano was rather fond f dating, and he learned that Elizaveta, faithful, loving Elizaveta, was drifting closer to Gilbert and going to him for what Roderich lacked in giving affection. Ivan never said anything about it, just continued to smile and laugh as if nothing was wrong.

Which it was far from. Things started changing around the town. Elizaveta was getting frustrated with their neighbor's dog barking at night and keeping her up, but then the dog disappeared. Their neighbor went looking for his dog, and he disappeared. Elizaveta finds it worrisome, but Ivan assures her nothing is wrong.

One afternoon, school is let out and Romano hesitates, glancing around, praying he'll have a lucky break. He sees his brother, Feliciano, walking with a young boy, Bruno, from their history class. Romano can't help but feel disgusted that his twin would be around him, but he has bigger worries at the moment. He heads away from the school building, walking quickly, but suddenly his foot catches something and he tumbles to the ground, dropping his books as laughter erupts behind him. Romano scrambles for his things until a hand snags the back of his shirt, yanking him back into the reach of his three tormentors, Arthur, who he dislikes, Francis, who scares the shit out of him, and Sadiq, who seems to have it out for him. Romano glances at the trio, then starts to back away as they close in, smirking wickedly,

"Where do you think you're going, Romano?" Sadiq asks, grabbing him roughly to yank him closer, Francis's arm somehow finding its way around his waist, which makes Romano shudder in disgust,

"Let go of me, I have to go home." Romano said, scowling at the masked teen. Sadiq scoffed, raising a fist threateningly,

"You haven't gotten your daily punishment yet." Romano could feel the panic rising in his body, and he did the first thing that came to mind. He kicked. He kicked Sadiq first, since he was right in front of him, and the blow landed solidly where it counted, making the tanned boy crumple to the ground, then he kicked Francis in the leg, making him yelp and let go, then he kicked at Arthur, who managed to get out of reach before he could injure him. Romano made a break for it, snatching up his books and bolting away, racing as fast as he could down the sidewalk. Soon enough, though, the trio was chasing him on their bikes, like always, and adrenalin and fear pushed him to run even faster, praying to any god that would listen to help him get away unscathed. As if by a miracle, one of Sadiq's wheels caught on something as he passed a car, causing him to topple over and skid on the pavement, the other two swerving to not hit him, crashing their own bikes. Romano felt a wave of satisfaction when Sadiq sat up cursing over his bloody nose, but he continued to race home and didn't stop until he was inside with the door slammed shut, gasping for breath. Ivan appeared almost out of nowhere in that weird way he always did and smiled, offering Romano a glass of water,

"You look exhausted, Romano, here, drink. Will help, da?" Romano nodded and gulped down water, sighing when it was gone,

"Thanks..." He panted, heading up to his room to collapse for a while, Ivan simply smiling and going back to his work. The next day, Romano didn't see the three bullies at all, but he did grimace when he saw his brother cuddling with the upperclassman, Antonio, the school's idiot prettyboy. Romano hated him and his stupid smile, and stupid accent, and how he always showed that smile at Feliciano. It made him sick. Romano headed home, and for once he managed to walk all the way home without being attacked or chased, which was a huge relief that he savored by relaxing outside with a tomato Ivan had offered him. The Russian had to be psychic or something, he never told anyone he liked tomatoes, but every now and then he grabbed one for a snack and ate it whole.

Things quieted down for a while, the bullies gave up on Romano, Feliciano seemed content with Antonio, but Elizaveta still found herself drawn to her egotistical trainer. One day, Roderich bids farewell to his family and leaves town to work with an orchestra a few towns away. It's then that things start to get out of hand. That night while Ivan is out in the garden, he hears some noise at the back of the house that is not normal. In his strangely stealthy way he slips around to investigate and finds Elizaveta's trainer, Gilbert, crouched by the window of Feliciano's room with a camera in his hand. Ivan moves silently until he is behind the man, realizing that the albino is watching Feliciano undress. The German's only warning that he's been caught is a low chanting that sounds like 'kolkolkolkolkol' before everything goes black.

The next day Elizaveta discovers that Gilbert has gone missing, and Ivan's mood seems slightly off, but he assures her it's nothing. Feliciano comes home, saddened, and he confesses to Ivan that Antonio left him for a girl. Ivan assures him that he'll be fine and Antonio wasn't 'the one', which seems apparent, since the brunette has hooked up with his German classmate, Ludwig, by the next day.

Elizaveta has fially put Gilbert's absence out of her mind, seemingly just in time for a new problem to arise. A news report that she and Feliciano are watching catches her attention when it shows a frighteningly familiar face and talks about how the person has been released from prison after being held for murdering his family. Elizaveta is horrified as she stares at the image, finding her voice,

"Ivan!" She calls, and the blond appears in the doorway, pausing what he's about to say when he sees the report, "I-isn't that you...?" Elizaveta asks, pointing to the image of the Russian smiling for his prison photos. Ivan nods wordlessly from the doorway, smiling slightly, "B-but your name isn't-"

"Vladimir Braginskaya?" He says, cutting her off, "Da. It is." Elizaveta looks at the TV again, then back at him,

"Did you...?" She began, and he smiles a little more,

"Da." Elizaveta stares at the Russian in horror, and he simply smiles, standing there,

"But... Why did you come here? Why didn't you return to Russia?" Ivan sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets,

"I might as well say it, since the secret's out." He said, his face losing its near-permanent smile, "When I was arrested, I was on my way to see you. I waited through my whole sentence for a chance to see you." Elizaveta opened her mouth yo ask, but Ivan held up a hand to stop her, "Your father, Magyar, was a good friend of mine. He asked me to be your godfather." Elizaveta's mouth fell open, not quite sure if she could comprehend this news all at once, Feliciano watching them in stunned silence, "I came to Austria so I could see my goddaughter and help her stabilize her life." There was a long stretch of silence as Elizaveta processed the information,

"Then... Gilbert is..." She said slowly, and Ivan smiled grimly,

"I caught him spying on Feliciano." Feliciano gasped, covering his mouth,

"Then- that noise I heard...?" Ivan nodded,

"Was me."

"Mr. Germain...?" Elizaveta offered tentatively,

"His dog was bothering you." Ivan answered, smiling, "And he was snooping." Elizaveta took a deep breath, trying to keep calm,

"Ivan, just because someone upsets you doesn't mean you should kill them..." Ivan laughed, walking closer and patting her head,

"The doctors and I could never agree on that." Elizaveta looked horrified, but Ivan simply smiled happily and Feliciano bit his lip,

"W-what do we tell the others...?" He asked, and Elizaveta grew worried,

"We shouldn't tell them. Roderich doesn't need to know, and neither should Romano. It can be our secret." Feliciano nodded, and Ivan smiled wider, hugging them before going back to what he'd been doing.

When Roderich returned, nothing was said about Ivan being a murderer, nor was it revealed that he was actually named Vladimir, but one day when Elizaveta and Ivan went to help Roderich set up for a concert, a woman approached, complaining about the way the flowers were arranged, causing Ivan to pull out a steel faucet pipe from his coat, Elizaveta barely holding him back from cracking her skull open, though the shock of the murder attempt gave her a fatal heart attack. Ivan was quick to sit her in a chair as if she was just resting before Roderich came in, the musician sighing,

"Honestly, her flower arranging will be the death of her..." Elizaveta had to bite her tongue, Ivan only smiling and disposing of the body when they had the chance. Ivan seems satisfied that the family is prospering and bids them farewell before heading out to take the next train to Russia. Elizaveta hopes things will run smoother now, Feliciano has settled down on his boyfriend-hopping, and is happily dating Ludwig, Romano was asked out by Antonio, who now ensures Sadiq and the others don't hurt him, and Elizaveta finds new affection through Roderich's music. All seems well until Roderich calls in two men to take a look at the pond out back. Elizaveta's heart drops into her gut as she realizes that they'll find the bodies when they say they'll have to drain the water, so she puts on her sweetest smile and invites them in for something to eat.

On the train, Ivan can't help but smile a little wider, getting the feeling that his secret is safe with Elizaveta, and that the pond might just be a little fuller...


End file.
